Malum
by DMBfan
Summary: A horrible tragedy leads to Zack and Cody becoming orphans. The Tipton do their best to provide support. Until they discover a secret Carey and Kurt kept from the boys. A deadly secret that has come back to haunt them. Malum is latin for evil.


Hello, hello. I'm writing this fic with holychocalatestarfish. Malum is latin for evil. We hope you all like this angsty suspense thriller. Please review. Thanks.

_**Disclaimer: We do not own the Suite Life, sadly**_

Chapter 1 Tragedy

Cody stood in the hallway at school, pulling piles of books out of his locker. It was Friday, and Cody wanted to take all of his books home to study even though there wasn't any test coming up.

"Hey loser!" a boy yelled from across the hall. Cody sighed. He thought he'd get away with not getting picked on today, but he was wrong. He turned toward the boy. It was none other than, Noah, the biggest bully in the school.

"Cat got your tongue, loser?" Noah pushed Cody into the set of lockers. He nearly dropped his stack of books from the force. Noah saw this, and decided to push the books out of Cody's arms, scaterring them all over the floor. "Give me your money!" Noah yelled.

Cody was so sick of this. Everytime he got money, someone just stole it from him. For once in his life he just wanted to walk home with the ten dollars he came to school with. "No. I'm not giving you any more of my money!"

Noah didn't like the answer, and punched Cody in the gut, making him double over, grabbing his stomach. "Want to rephrase that?"

The wind was currently knocked out of Cody so instead he shook his head. "Oh, you're asking for it now." Cody was still doubled over and Noah found that the perfect oportunity to bring his knee into Cody's face. Blood immediatly sprung from his nose as he reached up to hold it. Tears were mixing in with the blood that now poured through Cody's fingers.

"I'm going to tell you one more time. Give me your money!"

"Bo! I bon't give you any bore of by boney!" Cody yelled, his words sounding funny because of his broken nose.

"I guess I'll just have to beat it out of you." After saying this he went after Cody. Punches were thrown at Cody one after another until Cody thought he couldn't take it anymore. He was in so much pain.

"Hey punk! What do you think you're doing? Pick on someone your own size!" Someone was yelling. Cody couldn't tell who it was, but was glad when Noah stopped punching him.

"Did you just call me a punk?" Noah yelled back.

"Yeah. What're you gonna do about it?"

"I'm gonna beat you up, that's what!"

Zack backed away slightly. "Hey, when I said beat up someone your own size, I kind of meant beat up someone other than me and my brother. We are twins if you didn't guess and we're the same size you can't possibly think I'd tell you to beat me up."

Noah walked closer and closer to Zack until Zack was stopped by a row of lockers. Noah just kept walking until he was inches from Zack. As Noah glared down at him, Zack realized that his brother was still lying in a heap on the other side of the hallway. He wasn't going to let some really, really big guy do that to his brother. He threw a blind punch that just happened to hit noah in the stomach, making him double over. This was Zack's chance, he elbowed him in the back making him fall down and ran for it. He ran to Cody and picked him up, running as fast as Cody would let him out of the school. When Cody couldn't run anymore, they stopped and say at a bus stop.

"By books," Cody said. He was breathing heavily from all the running.

"Ahhhh. I think you'll thank me when you're thinking clearly. If I would have taken the time to pick all of them up, we would have both been goners," said Zack laughing, and throwing an arm around Cody's shoulders. Cody smiled.

"You look like crap," said Zack after a minute of silence. Cody's nose was, of course broken. It had swelled to twice it's size and dried blood coated it while a little blood stil trickled down. His lip was cracked and blood was coming out of that, too. Not to mention the black eye that was forming and the bruises on Cody's arms and ribs.

"Let's go bome," said Cody, and the two started walking to the Tipton.

"Where were you guys! You had me worried sick! Oh my God! What happened, Cody!" Carey screamed when she saw the door opening. She stopped cold when she saw her younger son with blood all over his face.

"Some kid beat him up, but don't worry, I stopped the kid from beating him up more than he did," said Zack as He helped Cody onto the couch. Just then the phone rang.

Carey picked it up. "What! He beat up my son! My other son was just trying to get that bully off his brother! You can't suspend him! Yo know, you've got some school system!" With that, Carey slammed the phone on its hook. "Damn school." Realizing what she just said she looked apologetically over at her son's. "I'm sorry boys. Zack, it looks like you have a two week suspension. I don't believe it. You didn't do anything wrong. I'm sorry. I tried to talk them out of it."

"It's okay, mom. I heard you. Actually, I think the whole hotel heard you, but that's beside the point," Zack said.

"I'b sorry, Zack. I didn't bean bor you to get in trouble."

"It's okay, little bro. I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

"Hey, want to do something tonight to make you guys feel better?" Carey asked suddenly.

Cody's face lit up. "How bout be go see Hablet!"

"That sounds like a great idea! Is that okay with you, Zack. Seeing Hamlet would be good for you."

"No. That's okay. I don't really feel like doing anything. I'll stay here and watch T.V. or something. No offence but Hamlet is not my kind of guy."

"Okay. If you'r sure. I'm going to take Cody to the hospital so someone can take a look at his nose and then we'll go to the play so we won't be back for awhile. Love you, Zack," Carey said. She went up to the couch and gave Zack a peck on the cheek, who rubbed it off after making a strange face.

"Love you, mom. But a kiss. Come on. Don't you think I'm a little old?"

"Of course not! You're never to old for a kiss from your mother!"

"Fine. But not in public." Carey laughed and agreed to Zack's little rule even though she knew she would break it. Then she and Cody were out the door.

After the doctor cleaned and stitched Cody's nose, Carey and him were off to enjoy the famous play. Both were excited and Cody was quoting lines.

"Find out the cause of this effect, or rather say, the cause of this defect, for this effect defective comes by cause." This was Cody's favorite. Carey remembered when Cody would walk around the house saying because he thought it was so amazing.

Carey and Cody arrived at the playhouse where Hamlet would be playing. As they walked into line to by tickets, Carey saw Kurt walking nearby. "Kurt!" His head turned as he looked for the person that said his name. When his eyes landed on Carey and Cody, he smiled and made his way over.

Upon seeing Cody, he gasped. "Whoa there, Codester. What happened to you?"

Cody was only slightly ashamed about telling his father he got beaten up by a bully.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't give him your money. He had no right taking it," said Kurt after hearing the story. This brought a smile to Cody's face.

"So what are you doing here?" asked Carey.

"My band just stopped to get a coffee. We've been on the road for a while and we needed a break. I was actually headed to the hotel to see you guys."

"Wy don't you watch Hamlet with us? It will be fun.," asked Cody. He never got to see his dad and he wanted to make the most of this opportunity.

Kurt looked like he was going to say no, but thought a minute and decided that it would mean the world to Cody if he watched Hamlet with him. Even if he did fall asleep. "Yeah, sure."

So they bought their tickets and went inside to find some seats. The play started soon after and the three enjoyed it very much. Even Kurt, who suprisingly didn't fall asleep, found the play enjoyable. When the play was over. They got up and made their way out. Cody was going on and on about his favorite parts.

After the play, Carey asked Kurt if he wanted to stop at the party store before they headed to the hotel. She needed to buy some milk and eggs.

"Hey, Mom! Can we get some candy for Zack?" asked Cody, holding up a bag of skittles.

"Yeah, I guess," replied Carey. She set her milk and eggs on the counter so the cashier could ring it up as Cody brought the bag of skittles up to the counter. The bell to indicate someone entering the store rang and everyone looked up. The man was wearing a ski cap over his head and a gun was in his hand.

"Give me all the money you got!" The man walked up to the counter Carey, Kurt, and Cody were at. Cody was standing closest to the man and Carey pushed him behind her. Then Kurt pushed him behind him and forced himself in front of Carey.

The man thought Kurt was trying to stop him so he shot his gun. The bullet hit Kurt square in the forehead. Carey screamed as Kurt hit the floor. She sprang foreward, kowing that Kurt was dead but not wanting to believe it. The man then shot again. The bullet found Carey's heart adn she dropped to.

"Fuck! Fuck Fuck!" The man yelled as he ran out of the store empty handed. Cody started in shock at the sight before him. His mom and dad were lying in heaps on the floor. None of them were moving. Both of them were dead. Cody didn't know what to do. His parents were dead. He ran for the door.

"Kid! Kid! Wait. Come back!" yelled the cashier. But Cody was gone.

He ran. He didn't know where he was going, or what he was going to do, but he ran. He ran across the street. He didn't look for cars and he didn't care. Cars sqealed as they hit their breaks and horns beeped. Curses were yelled out windows. Sirens were heard in the distance. Cody ran across another road. This time he wasn't so lucky. He hear the tires squeal again, but this time there was no time for the car to stop. It was going to fast and it hadn't seen Cody right away. He hit the front bumper, and traveled up the car until he came crashing down onto the pavement.

………..

Dr. Frank Lawson yawned as he finished filling out his paperwork for the night. That Trauma Ward at St. Simon's Mercy Hospital was empty for the first time in 72 hours. Frank had just finished putting together the shattered leg of a fifteen-year-old who had fallen down a flight of stairs. Frank was exhaused after four hours in surgery. He just wanted to go home and pass out. He ws almost out the door when the call came in. A thirteen-year-old boy had been hit by a car. Frank sighed deeply as he heard the approaching sirens. There goes any sleep for the night.

………….

Officer Mike Daniels walked into the emergency room. The boy had been taken from the scene of the accident forty five minutes earlier. Poor kid had never seen the car. He probably couldn't get the image of his dead parents out of his head so he ran straight into traffic. Mike wasn't sure how bad the injury was but from what he knew the boy was in surgery. Mike pulled a nurse aside.

"Excuse me, Miss. I'm here about about the injured boy who was brought in,' said Mike. The nurse sighed.

"Oh yes. Him. He has a slight spinal fracture. He was taken into surgery as soon as he got here," explained the nurse. "We also found a school ID card." The nurse handed Mike a bag full of Cody's belongings and Cody's school ID.

"Cody Martin. The parents were Carey and Kurt. He has a brother Zack. We found a health insurance card for him in Carey's wallet," said Mike, looking at the nurse.

"Cody's was in his wallet," assured the nurse.

"The address on here. That's not a residential address," noted Mike.

"That's the address for the Tipton hotel," explained the nurse.

……………………

Mr. Moesby was filling out some paper work at the front desk. He was in a particaualrly bad mood on account of six people were sick and couldn't work, meaning the work that needed to be done wasn't getting done.

"Excuse me. Is there a boy named Zackary Martin staying here?"

Mr. Moesby looked up from his work. It was a police officer. "Oh no. What did Zack do now?" he said sarcastically.

The policeman just stood there and looked at Mr. Moesby. "So there is a Zackary Martin here?" the policman asked again.

"Yes there is. What did he do?"

"He didn't do anything."

It was then that Mr. Moesby realized that something really bad had happened. Zack wasn't in trouble. The cop had something to say to Zack and he had a feeling it wasn't going to be good. "Something happened to Carey and Cody, didn't it? I saw them leave here a few hours ago," he said.

The policman looked a little hesitant to say anything. "Yes. I'm afraid so."

That was exackly what Mr. Moesby feared the most. "Are they okay?"

"No. Not really. I'm afraid Carey and Kurt are dead. Cody's still alive as far as I know, but..." The policman drifted off. He hated telling poor families that someone close to them has died. It was his least favorite part of beng an officer.

Mr. Moesby was shocked. Carey and Kurt were both dead! Since when was Kurt in town? "Oh my! What happened?"

"A robbery gone wrong. Some loser tried to rob a party store and I guess he thought Kurt and Carey were in the way. We caught the guy though, if that makes anything better. I'm sure it doesn't."

"Wait. How does Cody fit into this? You just said that Kurt and Carey got in the way."

"The cashier working in the party store said Cody ran out of the store. She tried to stop him, but I guess he was in shock and he just kept running. He got hit by a car a couple blocks away. He's in surgery right now for a partial spinal frature."

Mr. Moesby was finding it hard to keep his emotions in. Carey was like a sister to him. And Cody wasn't that bad. He was even starting to like him. Then he thought about how Zack would take this. Especaially hearing it from a cop. "Do you think I could tell Zack myself. I don't know, but I think he'll take it better if he hears it from someone he knows."

"Yeah. It's always better to hear from someone you know. I'm sorry I had to tell you. You were probably a good friend of the Martin's."

"Yes I was. As much as I deny it, I love those twins. They make things at the Tipton crazy, but that's okay once in awhile."

"Well, I guess I'll let you go do what you need to do," said the policeman, and he left. Mr. Moesby stood at his desk. It was just so shocking to hear that Carey and Kurt were dead. He just couldn't believe it. He slowly started to make his to the 23rd floor.

Zack was laying on the couch. He had been laying there since Carey and Cody left, and that was a long time ago. "_I"m gonna be sitting here a lot more in the next couple of weeks," _Zack thought to himself angrily.

Nothing was on television. He'd been watching a football game, but that ended a while ago so now he just flipped through the channels.

"Boring."

"Chick Flick."

"Baby show."

"Aghhhhhhhh! Spider!" Zack yelled as a spider crawled across the tv screen. He leaped off the couch and ran into the bathroom to grab a tissue. When he got back the spider was nowhere to be found.

"Oh great. I've got a spider in here and I don't even know where it is. That's a little creepy." Zack was checking places near the tv where the spider could have crawled, but found nothing. Then there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it!" he yelled.

"It's Mr. Moesby."

Something in Mr. Moesby's voice made Zack wonder if he wanted to open the door. He sounded tired. Kind of like when Zack broke something and Mr. Moesby didn't feel like yelling, but knew he had to. Before he opened the door, he silently wondered what he could have done to make Mr. Moesby so upset.

"Look, Mr. Moesby, whatever happened, I didn't do it. And this time I'm telling the truth. I seriously haven't done anything wrong."

Mr. Moesby just shook his head. He was beginning to wonder why he'd asked the policman if he could tell Zack. He was such a good kid. This was going to turn his world upside down. "I know you didn't do anything. That's not why I came up here."

"Then why are you here?" Zack asked. He was confused. He was almost sure he had just forgotten about the bad thing he did.

"I think we should sit down."

Zack already hated where this was going. Nothing good ever came from those words, but he sat down anyway.

"Something happened tonight. There was an attempted robbery at a party store somewhere. I guess your dad met up with your mom and Cody. They were at the store when it happened," Mr. Moesby started.

"Are they okay? Did they get hurt?" Zakc asked frantically. He started to stand up but Mr. Moesby pushed him back down.

"I'm sorry, Zack. Your mom and dad...they didn't make it," Mr. Moesby said as he waited for the tears to come into Zack's eyes, but none came.

"So mom and dad are..." He couldn't bring himself to say it. Zack didn't want it to be true.

"I'm afraid so." Zack was sitting on the couch staring into space. "Zack. There's more. Cody was hit by a car after he ran out of the store. He's okay. Don't worry. Look. If you need to talk, I'm here for you."

Zack stared blankly ahead for a minute before turning to Mr. Moesby. "I guess I should go to the hospital now."

"I'll take you."

Zack got up in an almost robotic motion. Mr. Moesby was slightly worried about the way he was acting but figured it was just because he was in shock from everything.

In the lobby, Maddie saw Zack and knew something was up. "Hey, what's wrong?" She asked.

Zack just kept walking as Mr. Moesby said in a hushed voice that Carey and Kurt had died and Cody was in the hospital. Maddie didn't hesitate for a second before she closed the candy counter and grabbed her coat. She was going with them.

………..

The operating room was quiet save for the beeping of the equipment and the slight whirring of the surgeon's drill. The entire surgical team watched with tense eyes as Dr. Lawson drilled into Cody's spine. They were entering the final phase of the surgery. They had to make sure Cody's spine was not only fixed but straight. The operation entered its' fifith hour as the surgeon finished. The team slwoly closed up Cody's back. Lawton left the team to bandage Cody and transport him to ICU. Lawton had to talk to the family Cody had left.


End file.
